In which I propose to enter a Haiku with the inspiring photo each day.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Josephine

Oh my darlin’
Oh my darlin’
Oh my darlin’ Josephine

Josephine, a double-ended Robert Fairlie-designed locomotive, was one of two locomotives used in 1872 on the newly-completed Dunedin – Port Chalmers Railway. After about 25 years service in Otago and in the Wanganui district, Josephine was taken over by the Public Works Department for use in railway construction at various locations including sections of the Otago Central, North Island Main trunk, and Midland lines. In 1917 Josephine was sold to the Otago Iron Rolling Mills Co. as scrap but no one was keen to demolish the old engine and when one of the company’s boilers failed Josephine was recommissioned as a temporary steam supply. In 1925 Josephine was installed as an exhibit at the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition in Dunedin and afterwards was presented to the Otago Early Settlers Association. In the 1960s. ~ Bernard